Apparatus for casting metal.



A. A. KING. APPARATUS POR CASTING METAL.

n APPLOATION FILED JUNE 20,*1912. 1,072,738.r

Patented sep.9,1913.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO A. KIN'G, 0F PAONIA, COLORADO.

`ACPIPARAJIIIS FOR CASTING METAL.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 9, 191e..

Application filed June 20, 1912. Serial No. 704,911.

To all whom t may concern.'

Ble' it known that I, ALoNzoA. KING, a

citizen of the United States, residing atV The invention 1s applied more particularly tothe production of dental inlays but is not confined to that field.

My invention utilizes the power of air underl high pressure, owing toward a vacu-l um, to -force molten metal into all the crevices and against all the faces of the impression which has been prepared to receive the metal.

The invention will be hereinafter first fully described, and the novel features thereof will then be more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, which illustrate the preferred lform of apparatus to be employed in carrying out the invention: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the complete apparatus; Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view ofa portion of Said apparatus; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the investment ring withv the model therein. Fig. 4- is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the valves and the coupling connecting the same. v

In the illustrative apparatus shown in the 'accompanying drawings, a tank is provided havlng an lnternal partition 2 whereby the tank is divided into a vacuum chamber 3 and a compressed air chamber or reservoir 4, a vacuum gage 5 being provided upon the tank 1n communication with the vacuum chamber, and a pumpl 6 being supported by the partition and the end wall of the reservoir or compressed air chamber, and so` arranged, that, when it is operated, the air within the vacuum chamber will be. withdrawn therefrom and forced into the reservo1r. l

yA pipe 7 leads from the top of the vacuum chamber to the lower end of a cup 8 and is provided at a suitable point with a cut-off valve 9. A similar pipe 10 leads from the top of the reservoir, and this pipe communicates with a cut-oil valve 11 which is disposed adjacent the valve 9, so that the stems o f ,the valves may be coupled together for slmultaneous operation. The coupling between the stems of the valves preferably consists of a tube 12 leading from the valve 11 to a T-joint 13, and a rod 14 leading from the said T-joint to the valve 9, the said valve 9 being thus cut-off from communication with the T-joint, while the said joint is open to communication with the valve 11. Rising from the said T-joint 13 is a tube or pipe 15 which extends toward and over the cup 8 and carries a cap or cover 16 adapted to it upon the upper end of the cup and tightly close the same, the pipe 15 opening centrally through the said cap or cover and a suitable packing being provided around the edge of the cover and the cup to form an air-tight joint between the same.

Thecup 8 is provided with an internal annular shoulder 17 adjacent its upper end, and upon the said annular shoulder is supported an investment ring 18. This investment ring comprises two 'members 18a andv 18", the latter comprising a hollow stem 19 and a porous` container or impression chamber 20 integral with o ne end of the stem. The member 18EL is a cylindrical body having an annular iiange 21 at one endadapted to rest upon the shoulder 17, the opposite end of the ybody being-smooth to it snugly within an axially extending annular flange, 22

formed at the edge of a base plate 23 which is integral with the stem 19.

The member 18a of the investment ring is placed upon a work table in the position shown in Fig. `3 over a nugget or ring'24 of metal having a wax center 25 and the plaster or otherinvestment Vmaterial 26 is packed in the ring over the nugget, a pin 27 bei-ng inserted in the wax center 25, as shown, either before or after investing. The member 18b of the ring is tted overthe lled member 18a and will be held thereto by the frictional engagement of the flange 22 with the side of the cylindrical body and by its contact with the investment material. The stem 19 passes around the pin 27 and the wax model 28 is secured on the upper end of the pin within the chamber 20. The investment material is then packed in the stem and the chamber 2Q\thereby making the impression or matrix, as will be readily understood.

turned so that the impression chamber is the base, the investment material will constitute a crucible in which the metal may be melted, the wax being consumed and the metal pin and nugget liquefying and flowing into the matrix. Before the parts can cool, the investment ring is placed in the cup, as shown in Fig. 1,' after which the cover 16 is brought into position over the cup, which position is indicated in full lines in Fig. l. By reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that when t-he cover 16 is swung over upon the cup 8, the valves 9v and 11 will both be actuated, inasmuch as the coupling between the two valvesconstitutes the pivot for the pipe or arm 15 carrying the said lever.

The pump 6 having been' previously manipulated to draw the air from the vacuum chamber into the reservoir and thereby establish a vacuum in the vacuum chamber and a supply of compressed air in the reservoir, when the parts are swung to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and the valves are opened, the air willat once rush through the pipe 10 to the valve 11 and through the same, coupling member 12, and the tube 15 to enter the cup, andthe ow will be accelerated by the presence of a vacuum at the endof the tube 7. ,The air will thus flow rapidly to and through the porous chamber 20, and the molten metal will be subjected to the pulling suction of the vacuum and the driving force of the air, so that it will be carried quickly into the impression chamber and into intimate contact with 'the entire surface of the impression or mold produced therein. The air will escape through the porous member 20, and flow into the vacuum chamber, so that an equilibrium between the two chambers will be established. The inlay or other cast, however, will be produced by the time the equilibrium is reached, and the cover 16 being then thrown to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, the investment rings, with the product therein, may be lifted from the cup, the shifting of the cover to the position shown in dotted lines closing both valves 9 and 11, so that if the pump be again manipulated, the air. will be drawn from the vacuum chamber into the reservoir for another operation.

My apparatus is exceedingly simple in its construction, and may be. easily operated, so that the labor of producing castings will be greatly reduced and the work finished in less time than has heretofore been possible, while the details of the impression will be more completely reproduced.

What I claim is v y 1. In an 'apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a vacuum cham- Aand having reservoir, a cup, a mold removably supported withink the cup, a pipe leading from the vacuum chamber to the bottom ofthe cup, a valve in said pipe, a cover for the cup, a continuous pipe leading from the reservoir a movable member forming conduit an carrying the said cover, a valve in said pipe connected directly with saidmovable member, and a connection between the first-mentioned valve and tile said movable member whereby both valves will be opened or closed as the cover is moved to or from the cup.

2. The combination of a vacuum chamber, a reservoir, pipes communicating with the vacuum chamber and the reservoir respect'ively, valves n said pipes, a coupling connecting said valves whereby they will operate in unison, a mold-containing cup communicating with one of said pipes, a cover` for 'said cup, and a swinging pipe extending from and communicating with the coupling between the valves and opening through said cover.

3. The combination of a vacuum charn-k ber, a reservoir, continuous pipes communicating with the vacuum chamber and reservoir respectively, valves in said pipes, a r0- tary valve coupling extending between said valves, a pipe secured to and communicating with said coupling'and extending therefrom, a mold-containing cup supported by and communicating with the pipe leading to the vacuum chamber, 4and a cover for said cup carried by the pipe extending from the valve coupling. A

4. The combination of a vacuum chamber, a reservoir, pipes leading to the vacuum chamber and from the reservoir respectively, a'mold-retaining cup supported by an ycommunicating wlth the end of the pipe leading to the vacuum chamber, a rotary valve interposed in said pipe, a rotary valve in the end of the pipe leadngfrom the reservoir and axially alined with the first-mentioned valve, a connection between said valves ycomprising a rod engaging the valve in the pipe leading to the vacuum chamber, a tube engaging the valve in the pipe leading from the reservoir and communicating with the port thereof, and a T- joint connecting said rod and said tube, a pipe rising from said T-joint andopen thereto, and a cover for the mold-containing cup'carried by said pipe. In testimony whereof I aixA my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALONZO A. KING. [1.. 5.] p Wltnesses: WILLIAM Woo'rroN,

J. D. HAwKINs. 

